Hmmm. I'm not sure what my insurance company(USAA) would pay for my car, but two years ago progressive gave me 5k for my '82 300SD when my car got totalled. And believe me, it was not in good shape appearance wise.

Coverage for both vehicles is liability only (but high coverage). The premium on the Mercedes is $500 more/year. I think perhaps the difference is due to the Mercedes being the "primary" vehicle drive to/from work, while the Explorer is for "pleasure" only. Still, that's a big difference I think.

Thanks,
bigmaq

I have USAA too. I have comparison shopped for the heck of it and nobody even comes close. Neither of the two insurance companies I've worked at have even come close, even with the group and employee discounts.

Some states have a thing called Collectors Car Registration. It’s not Historic Car Registration, (QQ plates), and the car only has to be 15 years old. I am allowed to drive it 2,500 miles a year max, but then again I only pay $50 a year for full coverage. Check it out.

American Collectors Insurance Company

I pay about $840 a year for my 300SD....with no collision insurance, but I do have vandalism/theft/act of God/Deer/Glass coverage. It already bought me a new windshield last December after a ginormous rock fell off a truck on my way home from the junk yard (of all places) and smashed it badly. I had only added the coverage 1.5 months earlier! Talk about luck. :D I also have a $400 head unit in my dash thats covered by that.....so I don't have to worry about it getting stolen. :)

My dad pays hardly anything on his cars since he has so many. I think he pays like $300 a year for his 300SD! :dizzy2:

I pay 44.56/month total for my 83 240D and 85 300D. Just liability. Dropped comp and collision but it was only $28/month more. Before I sold my GMC sierra it was about the same. Dropping the truck only saved me like $12/month. State Farm. God Forbid I ever need anything from them.

If I only drove my car to car shows, I would get that.:D

In CT you get "Early American" plates after 20 years, their are no restrictions and the insurnace companies don't give a damn. The benifit is your taxes go down to about $20 a year.:D So in the first year I save the $92 they cost me and than some.

I pay $2000 a year for full coverage on 4 cars through Met Life. I would not go without full coverage and underinsured/uninsured motorist! Part of the reason our rates in Arizona are so high is because we are a border state with no border protection and Arizona has become the #1 state for Grand theft auto and kidnapping!

Thank you liberals! Your intelligence and your "gifts" just keep on giving!

We recently had an episode in Phoenix where 100 rounds of amunition were fired off in s school zone at a drop house where the back yard was full of stolen cars! These were ILLEGAL ALIENS dressed up as cops and the person living in the house, an American Citizen was killed, yet somehow the sherriffs dept. that is making city wide crime sweeps are racist cops? Yeah right! Thanks ACLU!

I don't think bragging about insurance fraud on a public forum is a good idea.

$400 for the year for full coverage.... 250/500 limits with 100 in property. Matching uninsured, with $500 comp and collision deductibles. I got glass deductible waiver, and K5.



I work for Farmers, and know how to play the number to make them more favorable.

For reference, a driver under the age of 25 in the UK, with no no-claims discount, a 500-1000 quid Excess (deductable) and for 'basic Third-Party insurance' will generally cost in the region of 3000-4000 Dollars Per year. Single vehicle, no options for 'multi-vehicle single policies'

We've always been screwed by the 'financial institutions' here....

Currently paying 1400 dollars--yearly--No 'Monthly' options in UK, for insurance 'fully-comp' (prob different to US policy) for a 81, 300D, Two Named Drivers, One over the age of 25 who is a 'learner driver'....

Is it a 'Requirement' by Law that you have Insurance to drive a vehicle in the US..? It is Mandatory here in the UK....

I'm an Insurance Agent.......
 

and by my estimation; you guys pay a LOT for insurance on the whole. Premiums differ a great deal based on geographic locale and I only deal in the southeast so I'm in the dark with other regions but I carry $1M liability(combined limit,) matching UM, and $10K medical. Right now I pay $108 every six months for the '82 300Dt, $160 for the '90 190E, and $89 for the '76 300D. A further $1M umbrella runs about $300 per year.

NO physical damage(that's comp. and col.) on any of my cars as I see the screw job insurance companies put to people in (most) of our situations. We have nice, but older, cars with low wholesale values. If damage repair estimates approach 30% of a car's wholesale value, most comanies will call it a total loss and assume possession of your personal toy. You get the wholesale value minus your deductible....not enough to go out to eat at a non-creepy restaurant for a lot of us. You can always buy it back but then you have a car with a salvage title...easy to deal with in some States: an utter impossibility in others. Some companies set their "total loss" points somewhat higher or lower than 30% but that is an acceptable rule to use.

If your car is considered an antique, is a special edition, or otherwise unique, get a "stated value" policy from one of the many campanies that insure classic and novel vehicles. This will require an appraisal most of the time but if you insure your low mile, cream puff '85 300Dt to a stated value of $12,500, you will pay premium based on that amount and if you crash it you will get that figure minus your deductible...which you can have set to $0 if you desire. No "actual cash value" crap with a stated value policy.

If your car is a gem in your eyes but your friends call it a beater, chances are good that any insurer or adjuster will agree with them. You can always whine, cry, complain, file against,etc. and possibly get a bit more money out of the insurer....but, how much is your time and health worth?

I've come to these conclusions based on personal experience and years of watching what happens to my dear clients.

I bought a four DVD set from Eastwood about two years ago that claimed to teach the ins and outs of auto body repair and painting. It did not...but it did get me started and I've done a w201 that had it's front end smashed, a w123 with multiple points of interest, and I'm in the process of making my w115 look like new. When it's done, I'll get a nice classic car policy from CHUBB at the appraised value. The w201....if it's destroyed I might dance a little jig so long as no one is hurt. The W123? I'd jusy buy another one...with NO rust this time! I've probably saved enough in premiums on it to buy another one at no real loss.

Obviously, YMMV.

Mass. is one of the few states where the politicians decided they knew insurance pricing better than the free market, so it's regulated.

My 83 300SD was MORE than my 07 Honda Odyssey ($750 annual for the Honda, $900 for the MB). Then 2008 rolled around, and my MB turned 25, making it antique and not regulated through Hagerty collectors insurance, and I have a stated value policy of $6k for $60 per year.

Most people here seem to be paying an awful lot. I pay $321 for six months for three cars, liability and uninsured motorist only, but with limits higher than state minimums.

Alastair, liability insurance is generally required by state law in most of the United States. I heard that it's not required in Alabama, and there may be other states that don't require it.

Here in Virginia, AFAIK, antique plates don't have any insurance rules.
The CD next year.
I have contacted Grundy, and another classic car insurer. Good prices, but far too many restrictions.